Morning Prayer
And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Inspiration
Jesus summed up the whole Law of God in the command to love God and to love one's neighbor. Here, John the Apostle tells us that he who commands us to love God commands us to love our brothers in Christ as well. The two are inseparable. We cannot keep or break the one command without keeping or breaking the other.
Prayer
Lord, let us examine ourselves to see if we are walking in love for our brothers in Christ and in love for you. We cannot love the Father without loving His children also. We cannot love God and hate our brother. Lead us in the paths of love, which are the paths of holiness and of keeping your Word. For love is the fulfilling of the Law. Amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.